Rafael Sabatini 
Captain Blood 

Captain Blood: His Odyssey is an adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1922. Sabatini was a proponent of basing historical fiction as closely as possible on history. Although Blood is a fictional character,  much of the historical background of the novel is loosely based on fact. ‘Captain Blood’ is a classic for good reason. Sure, it’s a challenge for 21st century readers to wade through the archaic language of a novel written nearly 100 years ago, but Sabatini’s mastery of characters and story makes the labour more than worth it. Barely escaping the gallows after his arrest for treating wounded rebels who were fighting the oppressive King James, Blood flees England and becomes enslaved on a Barbados plantation of buccaneers.